UKE is distributed in the self-extracting archive UKEARC.EXE.
Download the file
to an empty subdirectory
and double-click on its icon
to extract UKE.EXE, README.TXT, and some test files.
When
I started playing the soprano ukulele, I found I couldn't think 'uke' as
a result of many years of playing guitar. The 4 strings of a ukulele have
the same relative tuning as the top 4 strings of the guitar (except that
the bottom string of soprano and concert ukes is tuned up one octave) so
0003 seemed fixed forever in my mind as 'G'. But I realized that to talk
to other uke players (yes, there are other uke players!) I'd have to learn
to think uke.
I took lyric sheets and started adding the names of guitar chords with the same fingerings as uke chords but quickly realized that this was making the problem worse because I just ignored the uke chords. Also, I rarely play anything more esoteric than a minor 7-th on guitar. The names of other 6-ths, 9-ths, and major 7-ths, so common in classic popular music of the 1920s and 30s, were no help because I didn't know them on the guitar, either. I needed to see the names of uke chords next to some system of forming them so that repeated viewing would fix them in my mind. I could have typed fingerings onto lyric sheets but resented the time it would take. Also, I shuddered to think of the aggravation I'd experience if I later decided to transpose a song to better suit my voice.
I've often criticized software vendors whose products failed to remove simple drudgery from my life, because I use a computer precisely to eliminate simple drudgery. I decided to take my own advice. The result is UKE.EXE for IBM-compatible computers.
UKE reads an ASCII file of chords and lyrics and rewrites it adding ukulele chordal patterns. In the source file, the names of chords can be written on a separate line above each line of lyrics or they can be imbedded in square brackets within the lyric (ChordPro files). In ChordPro files, a set of square brackets may contain the name of only one chord.
Although it's a DOS progam, UKE can be run by double-clicking on its icon and responding to its prompts. UKE can also be run from the DOS command prompt. UKE has a command line syntax that can be used to take advantage of a some additional features. UKE's command-line syntax is
UKE filename [options]
where options must be separated by one or more space. The options are
UKE recognizes the chord names
X Xm X7 X9 Xm7 X6 Xm6 Xmaj7 X7+5 X7-5 Xm7-5 X+ Xaug X- Xdim Xmaj9 X7sus X6/9 X11 X13 Xm6/9 ,
where X can be A A# Bb B C C# Db D D# Eb E F F# Gb G G# Ab , Xaug is equivalent to X+, and X- is equivalent to Xdim .
UKE identifies ChordPro files by counting the number of right square brackets in the file. If there are more than 2 (to allow for the occasional square bracket in the lyric file), it is considered to be a ChordPro file. The 'L' option overrides this rule. It causes UKE to treat the file as a lyric file regardless of the number of [-s.
UKE identifes lines of chords above lyrics by its ability to parse them. If any chord is unfamiliar to UKE no chordal patterns will be created for the line on which it appears.
Click here to
download.
| Version 1.62 corrects the C6/9 chord and removes a pesky 'pause' statement inserted during a debugging session. |
| Version 1.61 proceeds gracefully when a ChordPro file has unbalanced square brackets. |
| Version 1.60 drops lines containing only numbers. This allows UKE to transpose files that already contain chord fingerings. It is no longer necessary to maintain a file free of chord fingerings. |
| Version 1.51 eliminates mistaken error message. |
| Version 1.50 handles long file names. |
| Version 1.41 fixes the old command line C option and changes it to N so that C can be used to indicate C tuning. Cosmetic changes made to error messages. |
| Version 1.40 is prompt-driven if UKE is invoked by clicking on its icon or if no parameters are given when it is run at the DOS prompt. |
| Version 1.30 adds maj9 7sus 6/9 11 13 m6/9 chords. X- is equivalent to Xdim. New options allow any uke tuning to be specified. |
| Version 1.26 adds m7-5 chords. |
| Version 1.25 changes the chordal pattern for F7 from 2313 to 2310. |
| Version 1.24 correctly translate lines whose chords start in column 1. Chordal patterns for D#9, Eb9, A#m6, Bbm6 changed from 3534 to 0111. |
| Version 1.23 adds the option '.qualifier'. The output file name is basename of source file + .qualifier. It is useful when making tabs of the same song in different keys or tunings. |
| Version 1.20 automatically distinguishes between ChordPro files, where the names of chords are contained between square brackets, and files in which the names of chords are written above the lyrics. User-specified output filenames are permitted. Asterisks are no longer needed to identify lines of chords. |
| Version 1.22 no longer changes an initial 'A ' in a line of lyrics when chords are transposed. A slipstreamed version (no change in version number) correctly reports version number after a file is converted. All versions have been identified correctly in the help screen. |
| Version 1.21 fixes the loss of the last character on a line of chord names when the last transposed name is longer than the original. |
Click here to go to my main ukulele page.